Combination retaining-ring dispensing and assembling tools



COMBINATION RETAINING-RING DISPENSING AND ASSEMBLING TOOLS Filed Feb. 2, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 16, 1963 H. ERDMANN 3,085,322

r 1 I I 4 52 34a 33a 28 3/ a FIG. 7 34b 33b 43 INVENTOR 2 HANS ERDMAN/V ATTORNEY April 16, 1953 H. ERDMANN 3,085,322

COMBINATION RETAINING-RING DISPENSING AND ASSEMBLING TOOLS Filed Feb. 2, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR HA NS E ROMA lV/V ATTORNEY COMBENATIQN RETAiNlNG-RKNG DHSPENSIN G AND ASSEMBLING TUOLS Hans Erdmann, Maplewood, NJ., assignor to Waldes Kohinoor, Ind, Long Island City, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Feb. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 179,642

12 Claims. (Cl. 29-212) This invention relates to improvements in combinatron retaining-ring dispensing and assembling tools, and more particularly, in a hand tool for dispensing and applying spring retaining rings of the so-called open type characterized by a large enough gap between the open or free ends thereof as enables such rings to be assembled by spreading them directly over a workpiece such as a shaft in the plane of the groove in which they are to seat, rather than by spreading them over an end of the shaft and thereafter shifting them axially along the shaft to said groove.

In common with one form of retaining ring dispensing and applying tool disclosed and claimed in my earlier application, Serial No. 76,007, filed December 15, 1960, a tool according to the present invention incorporates a swinging applicator which is actuable to and from a ringreceiving position with respect to a stack rod or rail on which a multiplicity of the open rings to be assembled are held in stack or column formation, from and to a ringapplying position in which it may operate as a ring pushon tool, as distinguished from the more usual reciprocating blade-type of applicator. While performing eiiectively in most applications, continuing experience with a tool according to my prior application aforesaid revealed that it is not too well suited, by virtue of the relatively large throw of the applicator arm, to use in those applications requiring the working end of the tool to be inserted in openings or cavities of restricted size or with workpieces of unusually restricted accessibility.

Accordingly, it is a major object of the present invention to provide a swinging applicator-type of spring retaining-ring dispensing and applying tool capable of a wider range of use than possible with the retaining-ring dispensing and-applying tool according to my aforesaid application, and more particularly, to extend the use of the swinging arm applicator-type of tool to uses requiring relatively deep insertion of the working end of said tool into cavities or openings of restricted size orvin confined spaces, for which the tool of my prior application is not well suited.

A more particular object of the invention is the provision of a magazine-type hand tool for dispensing and applying open retaining rings which incorporates a swinging applicator operating on the principle of the generally similar tool disclosed in my prior application, but in which the throw of the swinging applicator is decreased as compared to that of the applicator of the prior tool, without in any way detracting from tool operability and effectiveness, thus rendering the tool useful in those applications to which the prior tool was not well suited by virtue of the large throw of the swinging applicator thereof.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved swinging applicator type of hand tool for dispensing and applying spring retaining-rings, wherein swinging motion of the applicator is effected by corresponding motion of a pivoted handle part with respect to a relatively fixed handle part constituting the tool body, characterized in that the applicator has relatively short length, the fulcrum about which the applicator swings is so disposed at the extreme tip or working end of the tool and the fulcrum about which the movable handle part swings is set back a substantial distance rearwardly 3,085,322 Patented Apr, 16, 1963 or toward the non-working end of said tool, with the result that the working end of the tool may be inserted and operated in cavities or openings of relatively restricted size, without operation being impeded by either the swinging applicator or the moving handle part.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a swinging-arm type of retaining ring dispensing and applying tool as aforesaid, constructed and arranged so as to perform the ring-dispensing operation in two stages, in the first of which the applicator is swung to a ring- 7 receiving position, and in the second of which the ring is forcibly projected into the ring-receiving recess of said applicator.

Yet a further object of the invention is the provision, in a swinging applicator-type retaining-ring dispensing and applying tool, of gear means for imparting swinging movement to the applicator responsive to movement of a movable handle part which incorporates a lost motion connection with said handle part providing that during the first stage of handle movement, said gear means and handle part move in unison, while during the second stage said handle part and gear means have limited rotational movement relative to one another.

A further and more detailed object of the invention is that of a swinging applicator-type of retaining-ring dispensing and applying tool, wherein provision is made for releasably locking the applicator member when positioned in the ring-applying position against unintentional or accidental swinging movement.

The above and other objects and features of advantage of a hand-type retaining-ring dispensing and applying tool of the present invention will appear from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying illustrative drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a side View, partly in section, showing the tool of the invention in the spread position of the tool handle parts, wherein the applicator is in the assemblyready position;

FIG. 2 is a similar view but showing the movable handle part closed, and the applicator in its ring-receiving position ready for the performance of the second stage of a ring-dispensing operation;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating the toolashaving performed the second stage of the ringdispensing operation;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the tool as such is seen from the side thereof opposite that shown in FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 5 is a front view looking at FIG. 4, from the right or working end thereof;

FIG. 6 is a section'taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a section taken along line 77 of FIG. 1; and,

B168. 8 and 9 are perspective detail views showing the lost-motion connection between the gear segment of the applicator actuating means and the movable handle part of the tool which permits the relative movement between said gear segment and handle part necessary to the tool performing the second stage of each ring-dispensing operation. t

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, a retainingring dispensing and applying tool of the invention comprises two basic handle parts, i.e. an elongated hollow frame and tool body 10 of inverted U-section, hereinafter for convenience referred to as the fixed handle part, and pivotally connected thereto by means of a pivot 41 (FIGS; 4, '8 and 9), a movable handle part 12. Substantially housed within the fixed handle part, wherein it is secured to a longitudinally-centrally extending, bracket-secured' plate member 1311 and a rearward extension thereof designated 13b, is a longitudinally extending stack rod or rail 14 adapted to mount a plurality of individual open retaining rings designated R to be dispensed, in column formation. As seen FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, whereas the rearward end of the stack rod 14 is generally horizontally disposed, its forward or delivery end curves upwardly and terminates in a substantially vertical end portion, whereby the uppermost ring of the stack thereof is substantially horizontally disposed. It will be understood that the retaining rings R are stacked on said stack rod 14 in the conventional way, and are urged towards said delivery end by a follower 15 which is biased towards the delivery end by means of a tension spring 16 extending between the follower and a screw or stud 17 which secures the fixed end of the spring to the fixed handle part 10.

Disposed in straddling relation on and mounted to slide along thehorizontal top edge 13c of the aforesaid plate member 13a is an inverted, U-shaped slide member 18 having a ring pocket or recess 19 formed in the under face of its horizontal top or cross wall portion 1811, so as to open through the forward edge thereof. In the normal position of said slide member 18 which it assumes until positively actuated toward the left to its FIG. 3 position, said recess 19 is disposed directly above the delivery end of the stack rod 14. It is to be understood that said recess 19 is configured generally similar to the outer edge configuration of the open rings R being dispensed, that its depth corresponds substantially to the axial depth of one of said rings as results in the recess floor being spaced above the end of the stack rod the thickness of one ring R; and that its rearward edge 19a is formed as an abrupt push shoulder which is capable, when engaged against the uppermost ring of the stack thereof, to push said ring to the left, responsive to leftwise movement of the slide member.

The normal or rightmost position of the slide member 18 is fixed by the abutment of its rearward end against the upper end 21a of a rock lever 21 pivoted intermediate its ends to the fixed handle part It) as at 22, and whose rocking motion in clockwise direction is limited by suitable stop means to that establishing said normal position of the slide member. A tension spring 23, reactive between the rearward end of the slide member 18 and a rearward point on said fixed handle part 10, serves to bias the slide member to its aforesaid rightmost or normal position against the upper end 21a of the lever 21. The lower end of said lever inclines downwardly-rearwardly away from said slide member, such arrangement providing that when upward pressure is exerted on the lower end 21b of said rock lever, its upper end 21a will have a component of horizontal movement which is utilized to push said slide member 18 to the left (FIGS. '1-3) against the action of spring 23. Preferably, the slide member 18 is held against the top edge 13c of the plate member 13a on which it slides by means of a block 24 secured to one of the side walls of the fixed handle part 10, so that it extends laterally therefrom over the slide member, as by screws 25, 2511.

As forecast above, the present tool employs a swingingarm type of applicator designated 28, which is secured as by screws 29, 30, to the fiat face of a collar or hub 81 keyed to a transverse shaft 32 having bearing in a thickened wall portion provided internally on one of the side walls of the fixed handle part It will be observed from FIGS. l-4, inclusive, that the shaft 32 is disposed at a low point of the extreme tip or working end of the handle part 10. The aforesaid applicator 28 is of conventional design, in that it preferably comprises (FIG. 7) a pair of resiliently connected arms or forks 33a, 33b which terminate in arcuate jaws 34a, 34b, together defining a substantially semi-circular ring receiving cut-out 35 which opens through the forward-end edge of said applicator, said jaws being provided also with a ring backing flange 36. As is well known, the jaws 34a, 341) are adapted to grip a ring entering the cut-out '35 along its outer edge, whereupon the ring is also held by the backing flange 36 which supports the ring and prevents its axial movement in one direction through the cut-out. It will be observed at this point that when the applicator is disposed in the assembly-ready position (corresponding to the spread position of the handle part 12),'the aforesaid backing flange 36 is upwardly disposed, that is to say, said backing flange is disposed above the plane the ring recess provided by the cut-out 35.

Swinging motion is imparted to the applicator 28 by gear means including a pinion 38, which is keyed to an outer, smaller-diameter end of the shaft 32, and a meshing gear segment 39. Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, said gear segment is pivotally connected, as by a pivot 41, to the relatively forward end 42 of the aforesaid swinging handle part 12, it being observed that said pivot also serves as a pivot or fulcrum for said handle part 12 which, by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, is normally maintained in the spread position (FIG. 1) by means of a leaf spring 43, but is movable to a closed position (FIG. 2) against the bias of said spring. Said leaf spring 43 is mounted so that its free rearward end is reactive against the outer end of the swingable handle part 12, and accordingly its relatively forward end is fixed, preferably by securing it to a sidewardly projecting plate 44 affixed to the inner face of one of the side walls of the fixed handle part 10, as by a screw 45.

Although pivotally connected to one another, the gear segment 39 and the swinging handle part 12 normally move in unison, since they are effectively connected to one another by means of a stiff coil spring 48 operatively contained in coextensive slots 39a, 42a provided in said gear segment and the forward end 42 of the handle part 12, respectively, as shown. However, the spring 48 provides that when the limit of swinging or arcuate movement of the gear segment 39 has been reached, the handle may be swung a little farther relatively to the gear segment, as permitted by ability of the spring 48 to compress.

In a tool for the stated purpose, it is desirable that the applicator be firmly held against unintentional swinging movement during the interval that it is performing the ring applying (pushing-on) operation, during which it must apply pressure on the ring in the plane of the latter. To this end, there is provided atransverse locking pin 49 (FIG. 7) mounted for limited axial movement in a rearward extension of the bearing member in which shaft 32 rotates, said locking pin being biased toward the swinging handle part 12 by means of a leaf spring 51 secured flush against a side face of said extension by means of a screw 52, and having length such that its nose end 49a projects into a recess 50 formed in the inside face of the forward end 42 of the swinging handle arm 12. Said recess 50 is, of course, so located as to' receive the nose end of the locking pin when the swinging handle part 12 is in its spread or non-active position in which it is shown in FIG. 1, and when it is so received, the pin secures the handle part 12 and thereby the applicator 28 against accidentalor unintentional swinging movement when the latter is in its active or assembly-ready position. However, by providing the pin-end entrance and exit edge of said recess 50 with an incline, the locking pin is enabled to ride out of the recess upon positive pressure being applied to the swinging handle part 12 in direction as to close same against the fixed handle part 10.

As previously forecast, a'retaining-ring dispensing and assembly tool according to the present invention is featured by a lesser throw of the applicator 28 than characterizes the generally similar swinging applicator-type of tool disclosed in my prior application, Serial No. 76,007. To this end, the applicator blade has length which is only that required to dispose its working end in a position which is substantially forward (and in the plane) of the upper most ring of the plurality of rings maintained on the stack rod 14, the invention providing that the slide member 18 will then take over by pushing said endmost ring forwardly into the ring-receiving cut-out 35 in said working end of the applicator.

More particularly, by comparison of FIG. 1 with FIG. 2, the latter illustrating the swinging handle part 12 in its closed position, it will be observed that such handle movement has resulted in the applicator 28 moving to its ringreceiving position within the fixed handle part which is established by its working end engaging fiat on the top surface of a fixed anvil or post 54 which extends transversely into the interior space of said fixed handle part. In this position, the ring-receiving cut-out 35 of said applicator blade is disposed a limited distance forwardly of the uppermost ring R of the stack thereof mounted on the stack rod 14 and which is then pocketed in the under face recess 19 of the slide member 18.

Upon the applicator blade 28 engaging said post 45, swinging motion of the gear segment 39 is stopped, since at this point of its motion said gear segment has performed its work and can move no farther. However, by virtue of the lost motion connection provided by the compressible coil spring 48 between the gear segment 39 and the forward end 42 of the swinging handle part 12, said handle part 12 may move a small further distance against the fixed handle part 10. Consequent to this further movement, during which said handle part 12 presses against the relatively rearward end 21b of the rock lever 21, said lever is rocked in counter-clockwise direction and by virtue of its upper end 2 1a abutting the rearward end of the slide member 18, said lever shifts the slide member in leftwise direction to the position in which it is shown in FIG, 3. By design, this leftwise shifting movement of the slide member is such as to forcibly project the uppermost ring of the stack thereof into the ring-receiving cutout 35 of the working end of the applicator which is then firmly supported on the post 54, as effects transfer of said ring to the applicator.

When ring transfer has been effected as aforesaid, pressure on the pivoted handle part 12 is released, whereupon it returns to its spread position shown in FIG. 1. During the initial portion of this movement, which takes place independently of any movement of the gear segment 39, rock lever 21 rotates in clockwise direction under the bias of spring 2 3, whereupon the slide member positively returns to its normal (FIG. 1) position. Continuing spreading movement of the handle part 12 under the bias of spring 43 results in the applicator 28 returning to its FIG. 1 or assembly-readiness position, but with a ring now held in its ring-receiving cut-out 35. At the same time, lockng pin 49 moves into the recess 50' of the handle part 12, thus temporarily locking the applicator in the aforesaid assembly-readiness position. In this position, the tool may be employed to push the ring held in the applicator cut-out against the workpiece, thereby to spread it over the workpiece and seat it in the groove usually provided therefor in said workpiece, such completing the assembly operation. The tool is then backed off from the workpiece, following which it automatically conditions itself for the next ring-assembly operation.

Without further analysis, it will be seen that a hand tool for dispensing and applying open spring-retaining rings as described and illustrated herein achieves the objectives of the invention as explained earlier in the present specification. More particularly, by decreasing the length of the applicator arm as compared to that of the generally similar tool according to my prior application Serial No. 76,007, the throw of the tool is correspondingly lessened, and thereby its use is extended to those applications requiring the working end of the tool to be inserted to a substantial depth into openings and cavities of limited confines or dimensions.

The tool of the present invention is also unique in its multi-stage ring dispensing operation. That is to say, by design, closing movement of the movable handle part 12 operates to eifect swinging movement of an applicator from a first or normal position to a second position in which its working end is spaced laterally from the endmost (uppermost) ring of the stack thereof to be assembled, and in a second stage, said endmost ring is forcibly pushed into the ring-receiving recess of the applicator by controlled movement of a slide member initially spaced from and separate and distinct from the applicator. The net gain of this two-stage dispensing operation is that the lesser length of the swinging applicator 28, as compared to that of the tool according to my aforesaid application, Serial No. 76,007, is compensated for by the shifting movement imparted the endmost ring of the ring stack into the applicator cut-out by a slide member 18 actuable responsively to the swinging handle part 12 moving to its fully closed position.

In addition to the aforesaid advantages, a hand tool for dispensing and applying open spring-retaining rings constructed according to the present invention is positive .in its operation, and has been found to be thoroughly deor vertically positioned or disposed. Further, as many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructiojns without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A hand tool for dispensing open spring retaining rings and applying them to work pieces such as grooved shafts and the like comprising in combination, a relatively fixed elongated, hollow handle part, a stack rod mounted within and extending longitudinally of said handle part and adapted to carry a plurality of the open retaining rings to be dispensed as a column, said stack rod having a delivery end portion which is disposed adjacent the Working end of the handle part and is substantially vertically disposed whereby the uppermost ring of the column is relatively horizontally disposed, means biasing the ring column towards said delivery end portion, an applicator pivotally connected at its one end to the working end of the handle part and itself having a working end provided with a ring receiving and gripping recess, means for imparting swinging movement to the applicator from and to a first position in which said applicator extends generally forwardly from said handle part to and from a second position in which its working end extends into the working end of the handle part and is disposed relatively forwardly of and in the plane of said uppermost ring of the column thereof, and means operative upon the applicator moving to said second position for positively shifting said uppermost ring of the ring column into the recess in said working end of the applicator.

2. A hand tool according to claim 1, wherein said last means includes a slide member mounted to slide in a path which traverses the delivery end of the stackrod and is provided in an underface portion with a ring-receiving recess defined in part by a ring push shoulder in which said uppermost ring of the column thereof normally seats and which is in horizontal alignment with the applicator recess when the applicator is in its second position as aforesaid.

3. A hand tool according to claim 2, wherein said last means also includes a relatively movable handle part pivotally connected to the fixed handle part for spreading and closing movement with respect thereto, and means interconnecting said movable handle part with said apt E plicator and said slide member in such manner that closing movement of the movable handle part effects swinging movement of the applicator from its first to its second position aforesaid and further elfects movement of the slide member toward the working end of the applicator then in its second position.

ward end of the movable handle part and normally connecting said segment and movable handle part for movement in unison but permitting independent movement of the movable handle part relative to said gear segment upon the gear segment having reached an end position corresponding to the second position of said applicator.

6. A hand tool according to claim 5, wherein the means interconnecting the movable handle part and the slide member includes a rock lever actuable responsive to said independent movement of the movable handle part to impart sliding movement to the slide member towards said applicator when the latter is in its second position aforesaid.

7. A combination ring dispensing and applying tool comprising an elongated, hollow, relatively fixed handle part, a stack rod mounted within and extending longitudinally of said handle part and adapted to carry a plurality of the retaining rings to be dispensed as a column, said stack rod having a delivery end portion which is generally vertically disposed and is located adjacent the working end of the handle part, a slide member mounted within said handle part for movement in a path which extends across said delivery end portion of the stack rod, means biasing the ring column against an underface portion of the slide member which is provided with a forwardly opening ring recess in which the uppermost ring of the column thereof normally seats and which is defined along its rearward edge by a ring push shoulder, an applicator pivotally connected at its one end to the working end of the handle part for movement from and to a normal first position in which it extends generally forwardly from said handle part to and from a second position in which to, its other or working end extends into the working end of the handle part and in forwardly spaced relation with respect to the uppermost ring seated in the slide-member recess, the working end of the applicator having ringreceiving and gripping recess in its end which opens towards said uppermost ring when the applicator is in its second position aforesaid, a movable handle part pivotally connected to said fixed handle part for movement from and to a normal spread position with respect to said fixed handle part, and means interconnecting said movable handle part with the applicator and the slide member respectively for actuating the applicator from its first to its second position and thereafter the slide member from its normal to a more forward position in which it forcefully pushes the uppermost ring into the applicator recess responsive to movement of said movable handle part toward said fixed handle part.

8. A tool according to claim 7, wherein said interconnecting means comprises gear and pinion means operative between the movable handle part and the applicator and a rock lever fulcrumed intermediate its ends in the fixed handle part and having one end biased into engagement with the relatively rearward end of the slide member and its outer end positioned in the path of closing movement of the movable handle part.

9. A tool according to claim 7, wherein the working end of the applicator in the second position of the latter engages on the upper end face of a movement-limiting member fixedly mounted within said fixed handle part.

10. A tool according to claim 9, and wherein said interconnecting means includes a lost-motion connection between the movable handle part and the applicator which is effective to permit limited further movement of the said handle part upon the working end of the applicator engaging said movement-limiting member, the construction and arrangement being further such that the interconnecting means is effective to actuate the slide member only in response to such further limited movement able handle part.

ll. A tool according to claim 7, wherein means are provided to releasably lock the movable handle part in of the movits normal spread position corresponding to the first posi- No references cited. 

1. A HAND TOOL FOR DISPENSING OPEN SPRING RETAINING RINGS AND APPLYING THEM TO WORK PIECES SUCH AS GROOVED SHAFTS AND THE LIKE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, A RELATIVELY FIXED ELONGATED, HOLLOW HANDLE PART, A STACK ROD MOUNTED WITHIN AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID HANDLE PART AND ADAPTED TO CARRY A PLURALITY OF THE OPEN RETAINING RINGS TO BE DISPENSED AS A COLUMN, SAID STACK ROD HAVING A DELIVERY END PORTION WHICH IS DISPOSED ADJACENT THE WORKING END OF THE HANDLE PART AND IS SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY DISPOSED WHEREBY THE UPPERMOST RING OF THE COLUMN IS RELATIVELY HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED, MEANS BIASING THE RING COLUMN TOWARDS SAID DELIVERY END PORTION, AN APPLICATOR PIVOTALLY CONNECTED AT ITS ONE END TO THE WORKING END OF THE HANDLE PART AND ITSELF HAVING A WORKING END PROVIDED WITH A RING RECEIVING AND GRIPPING RECESS, MEANS FOR IMPARTING SWINGING MOVEMENT TO THE APPLICATOR FROM AND TO A FIRST POSITION IN WHICH SAID APPLICATOR EXTENDS GENERALLY FORWARDLY FROM SAID HANDLE PART TO AND FROM A SECOND POSITION IN WHICH ITS WORKING END EXTENDS INTO THE WORKING END OF THE HANDLE PART AND IS DISPOSED RELATIVELY FORWARDLY OF AND IN THE PLANE OF SAID UPPERMOST RING OF THE COLUMN THEREOF, AND MEANS OPERATIVE UPON THE APPLICATOR MOVING TO SAID SECOND POSITION FOR POSITIVELY SHIFTING SAID UPPERMOST RING OF THE RING COLUMN INTO THE RECESS IN SAID WORKING END OF THE APPLICATOR. 